On the eve of the 37th anniversary of the bloody suppression of the June Fourth Incident in Tiananmen Square in 1989, members of the Tiananmen Mothers, a rights protection group composed of family members of the victims, received a notice from the Public Security Bureau that they were not allowed to go to Beijing's Wanan Cemetery to pay homage to their loved ones on June 4 this year, nor were they allowed to hold usual memorial ceremonies.
The families of the victims issued a protest on June 1, demanding the lifting of relevant restrictions. This is the first time in more than 30 years that the families of the June 4th victims have been prohibited from going to the cemetery to pay homage to their loved ones.
Radio Free Asia (RFA) exclusively reported on the 2nd that the protest letter showed that the families of some of the victims of the June 4th Incident in Beijing were recently notified by an agency affiliated with the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau that they were not allowed to go to Wanan Cemetery for individual or collective mourning on June 4, nor were they allowed to read out eulogies or publish photos of their condolences.
The protest stated that this unreasonable request from the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau violated the country's constitution, laws and basic human nature. The families of the victims expressed strong protest and urged relevant departments to cancel this unreasonable request.
Zhang Xianling, a member of the Tiananmen Mothers, told RFA on the 2nd, "They no longer allow us to go to Wan'an Cemetery, nor do they allow us to read memorials or eulogies. We are not allowed to do these routine actions before. Now we are not even allowed to go. This has never happened before."
For decades, members of the Tiananmen Mothers have been accompanied by the police to the Wanan Cemetery to pay their respects every June 4, and read memorials and eulogies to remember their loved ones. But since April 28 this year, members of the organization have been monitored by public security and community personnel.
Zhang Xianling said: "My area has been on duty since the 28th. There are two security guards at the community entrance, two policemen downstairs, and two cars, one police car and one civilian police car. The security is very tight, not to mention taking calls from foreign media reporters."
Zhang Xianling is the mother of Wang Nan, the June 4th victim. Over the years, the Tiananmen Mothers have continued to demand that the truth about June 4th be revealed, that accountability be held accountable, and that compensation be given to the families of the victims.
Every year on the eve of June Fourth, members of the Tiananmen Mothers are subject to varying degrees of supervision, with restrictions on outside contact and daily travel.
Beijing dissident "Mr. Wu" revealed that many people's freedoms were restricted this time. "Gao Yu was taken away on the 25th, Ji Feng went to Guilin, and lawyers Mo Shaoping, Pu Zhiqiang, Wu Qiang, He Depu, Zha Jianguo, Lao Gui, Zhang Lina, Ma Licheng, Hu Jia, Liu Di, Li Wei, etc. were posted."
Human rights activists in Hunan and Guizhou said that when they recently used "censorship wall" software VPN, they found that since last week, it has become increasingly difficult to circumvent the wall, and they often cannot connect to the Internet. "It is most difficult to circumvent the wall from 9 a.m. to 12 midnight every day." This phenomenon also existed during June 4th in previous years, but it was not as serious as this time. The police also warned over the phone not to try to circumvent the wall, "and said they could detect us circumventing the wall."
The report pointed out that members of the Guizhou Human Rights Seminar have been controlled by the public security one after another since last week. Some were taken to the suburbs for forced travel, and some were closely monitored by the police, with guards almost inseparable.
